IND vs SL 2021: Yuzvendra Chahal reveals defensive plan behind game-changing spell in 1st T20I

Yuzvendra Chahal has revealed the strategy behind his thrifty spell that helped India defend 164 in the first T20I against Sri Lanka. The usually attacking leg-spinner stated that he took the role of stringing dot balls by using the disproportionate boundaries at the R. Premadasa Stadium.

Yuzvendra Chahal gave away just 19 runs in his four overs and picked up the wicket of Dhananjaya de Silva with a classic leg-break that castled the batsman's off-stump. He explained how he had to rein in his potent googly against the right-handers to build pressure and how the same delivery came good against the lefties.

"The way I was bowling, the leg-side was a bit short and they were trying to hit me there so I didn't bowl that many googlies to the right-handers. I didn't want to give away boundaries and in my mind, I had thought of bowling as many dot balls as possible to create pressure so that even if I didn't get a wicket my partner from the other end would be able to bowl more freely," Chahal said in the post-match press conference.

"If I had gone for wickets at that moment or tried too much then a six or four from them would have put the pressure back on us because it wasn't that big a total. So therefore I bowled more googlies to the left-hander because the off-side boundary was quite big. I kept mixing the deliveries and backed my instincts," he added.

CLASSICAL LEG-SPINNER'S DISMISSAL ☝🏽Yuzi Chahal gets the second wicket for India! Tune into Sony Six (ENG), Sony Ten 1 (ENG), Sony Ten 3 (HIN), Sony Ten 4 (TAM, TEL) & SonyLIV (https://t.co/QYC4z57UgI) now! 📺#SLvINDOnlyOnSonyTen #HungerToWin #YuzvendraChahal pic.twitter.com/eBoQdLBxt1

— Sony Sports (@SonySportsIndia) July 25, 2021

Yuzvendra Chahal's tactic of building pressure came good as Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-22) and Deepak Chahar (2-24) reaped the rewards. India registered a comfortable 38-run win that handed them the lead in the three-match series.

"My job is to control the middle overs" - Yuzvendra Chahal

4⃣/2⃣2⃣ in 3.3 overs 🔥🔥@BhuviOfficial wins the Man of the Match award for his splendid performance in the 1st #SLvIND T20I👏👏#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/DlV3aIK4um

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 25, 2021

When asked whether his spell was the difference between the two teams, Yuzvendra Chahal said the bowling attack was confident of defending the below-par target. The 31-year-old added that he has always backed his skills in controlling the middle overs and that's the only thing he thinks about while bowling.

"We knew that although we were 10-15 runs short, whatever the score was we could defend it. And my job is to control the middle overs and I was very happy to do that. And I always back my bowling. I have always bowled like that only, there's nothing much on my mind. I just back myself and try to do my job which is controlling the middle overs," Yuzvendra Chahal signed off.

The second T20I will kick off at the same time on Tuesday, July 27.

That was a good game. India were tested, put under pressure but they came out trumps. @SDhawan25 @surya_14kumar @BhuviOfficial @deepak_chahar9 and @yuzi_chahal all excellent. Complete team performance👏🏻🇮🇳 #SLvsIND pic.twitter.com/EixnvQ4eaV

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) July 25, 2021